


The Slow Reveal

by LadyHampton



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Murder Mystery, Post Hogwarts AU, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-02 18:32:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4070221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyHampton/pseuds/LadyHampton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after the final battle, Hermione and Snape are paired together to help solve the murder of a member of the Ministry of Magic. They are forced to work together despite their stubborn personalities and along the way they find more than just answers to the task at hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
Hermione hurried down the dark hallway while trying to keep the purple hat attached to her head. It had taken her a good 20 minutes to get it looking just right and she didn’t have time to fix it if it fell. Hats were never a good look with her unruly hair. 

Her first hearing as a member of the Wizengamot was going to start soon and she wanted a chance to talk to Harry before it started in an effort to calm her nerves. Kingsley Shacklebolt had appointed her to the Wizengamot only last month. At 23, Hermione was now the youngest witch to ever be appointed and of course she had taken the last month to research and study everything there was to know about her new position. Kingsley told her he appointed her not just for the attention her name brought to the position, but because he had always admired her sense of justice. Hermione tried not to let that over-inflate her ego, but she smiled again thinking about the compliment.  
Hermione spotted both Harry and Ron standing by the elevators near the courtroom and picked up her pace as she waved to them. She hadn’t realized Ron would be coming as well.

“Finally! The witch of the hour has arrived! You ready for this?” Harry pulled Hermione in for a tight hug while she held her hat in position. 

“Let’s hope so, I barely got any sleep last night I was so nervous. I didn’t realize both of you could make it, thank you for coming, it means a lot” Hermione gave Ron an awkward hug. Things had been getting better between the two of them since their mutual breakup a few years ago but there were still times when things could get uncomfortable. 

“It’s the least we could do, ‘mione. After all of the times you supported us during Auror trainings. Plus, with my new job at the joke shop, it’s best we get on good terms with somebody in the Wizengamot. I think George had 4 hearings last year alone because of the trouble some of his products caused” Ron chuckled as he awkwardly patted Hermione on the shoulder. 

As they started to walk towards the courtroom, a tall and slender witch with wild, grey curly hair stopped in front of them. Druella Bones had been Undersecretary of Ministry for 3 years now and in Hermione’s opinion, was one of the most interesting and thoughtful witches at the ministry. She had become a sort of mentor for Hermione over the past six months and seeing her now calmed some of the butterflies still fluttering around in her stomach. 

“Miss Granger! Ready for your first hearing?” Undersecretary Bones extended her hand to Hermione  
“Ready as I’ll ever be!”  
“Good to hear, I have no doubt you’ll enjoy your new position. Mister Potter, Mister Weasley I don’t think I’ve gotten a response from you two if you are attending my birthday celebration tomorrow evening. No doubt you’ve received my invitation, it is my 100th birthday and I daresay I’m going to throw a party that rivals any of the Ministry balls. Will you be able to make it?” The Undersecretary still held Hermione’s hand in her right hand, patting it reassuringly with her left hand as she spoke. Hermione was starting to feel more calm than she thought possible.  
“Ah, sorry about that, I normally let Ginny respond to invitations for us and it spaced my mind. We’ll be there!” Harry responded enthusiastically.  
“Wonderful! Well I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow evening.” Undersecretary Bones winked at Hermione and started down the hall towards her office.  
Hermione took a deep breath and opened the door to the courtroom.

“Butterbeers on us when it’s over!” Harry shouted as Ron broke out his boyish grin and waved her on.  
“Might need to make that something stronger. Wish me luck!” Hermione said over her shoulder. She nervously smoothed down her purple robes and walked into the courtroom as flashbulbs from the Daily Prophet’s photographer went off, documenting yet another moment of Hermione making history. 

*******  
Severus finished the last button on his black outer coat and placed his wand in his dark green dress robes. He had always hated any type of crowded party and nearly always declined attending but for Druella Bones, he was willing to make an exception. After the war, most people had either treated him as though he was either some fragile figurine on the verge of breaking or they only attempted to befriend him simply because of his fame and notoriety. Undersecretary Bones was one of the few that did neither and Severus felt he could count her amongst the few true friends he had in his life.  
Severus took one last look at himself in the mirror and huffed at the reflection, he was looking tired these days. He walked to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder. 

The quicker he got there, the quicker he could get back home. But the second Severus stepped out and into the brightly lit ballroom, he knew he was in for a longer night than he anticipated. 

“Ah! Snape, it’s been a while, how are you!” _Why is it that Harry Potter always is always the first one I come across at these damn events?_

“Fine, Mister Potter. How are you this evening?” Severus took in the crowded ballroom and searched for the drinks. It seemed as though his night just went from a one drink limit to two drinks in a matter of a second.

“Great! Been looking forward to this party all week. Oh, when you get a chance, we came across some strange unidentifiable potion on a raid earlier this week, it would be great to pick your brain about it” 

“Mister Potter, could you at least give me a moment to remove my coat and get a drink before you accost me with work topics?” Severus rolled his eyes and let out a growl. The only thing he missed from his teaching days was the ability to instil fear in people when he didn’t want to be bothered. 

“Yes! Sorry! Of course, I’ll come find you later”  
Harry and Ginny scurried away as Severus left to find the drinks. He charmed his coat away and strode over to the bar he saw in the corner, looking around for Druella as he did. The quicker he could find her and wish her a happy birthday, the quicker he could get out of there. He came up next to a very nervous looking Draco Malfoy and Greggory Goyle. 

“Good evening, gentlemen. I hadn’t realized you would be attending.” Severus drawled as he scanned the room and then reached out to grab a glass of whiskey.

“Hello Severus. We’re here escorting our dates; they both work for the Undersecretary. If you excuse us, we better go find them” Draco took his two drinks and walked away so fast he was nearly jogging with Goyle following closely behind. Severus raised his eyebrow as he watched them meet up with two plain looking witches across the room. Severus was a bit mystified as to why they just ran off as though he was going to assign them detention for the first time. Maybe there was hope, maybe he was still capable of terrorizing his past pupils, even ones he was on good terms with.

Severus slowly made his way to the back corner of the room against a marble archway to see if he could find Druella while remaining inconspicuous. He sipped down his drink for a few minutes and couldn’t help but be impressed at the variety and number of witches and wizards that had attended this event. From the Minister of Magic himself to the seeker of the Chudley Cannons, there was never a lack of wizards to converse with, unfortunately. He was sure he could easily enter himself into any number of conversations, and could probably even get a witch or two to accompany on the dance floor if he chose to do so. But Severus was rarely in the mood for petty conversations or witches that fawned over him solely to get their picture with him in the Daily Prophet. 

He was so engrossed watching Minister Shackelbolt arguing with Harry Potter that he almost missed Druella walk by arm in arm with Hermione Granger.“Ah! Druella!” Severus stepped out of his corner with his empty glass “I was just about to get a refill of whiskey, can I get the birthday witch a drink?”

“Severus! Oh goodness, it is so good to see you here! Are you enjoying yourself? You remember Hermione Granger” Druella came up to hug him. Severus gave her the nearest thing he had to a hug, stiffly patting her on the back as he locked eyes with Hermione smiling up at him behind Druella. He couldn’t tell if Miss Granger was smiling as a greeting or at the novelty of seeing him hug somebody. “Miss Granger, good to see you”.

“Good evening, Sir. Would you like me to grab you two some new drinks while you catch up?” Hermione offered to Druella.  
Druella gave a little pat on Hermione’s arm, “OH dearie, that would be lovely thank you! Actually, if you could, find George Weasely. He has promised me a glass of a new champagne he created, he won’t tell me what it does, but I plan on having that as my first toast in a bit! And, best get a fresh whiskey for Severus here.” Hermione left for her quest as Druella and Severus caught up on the latest testing on new antidote for veritaserum he had been conducting for her office. So engrossed in their topic , Severus didn’t even notice Hermione had returned next to him a few minutes ago, holding a flute of champagne and a new glass of whiskey. She lightly tapped him on his forearm, startling him.

“Oh thank you Hermione. Severus, I must excuse myself and go thank George. We’ll catch up some more later. Hermione, will you lead me to where you found the great prankster, I’d like to taste his champagne concoction in front of him. If there are any adverse effects to bystanders, he better bear the brunt as well!” Severus bowed his head and raised his glass as Druella and Hermione walked away. 

He took another sip of his drink, still a little unnerved after allowing Granger to sneak up on him like that. Severus was enjoying the slight burn the drink left in his throat as Draco Malfoy came up beside him. “Hello again Severus, my apologies for earlier, you caught me at a bad time. You know how uncomfortable blind dates can be. This one is a downright bore.” Draco looked much more relaxed now that he wasn’t standing with Goyle or his date. 

“I’m quite used to people actively avoiding me at social occasions, no need to apologise. So Draco, how is your--” Severus was cut off by a woman’s high pitched scream followed by a commotion as people began shouting from the dance floor. 

His fighter’s instinct kicked in as he instantly handed his glass to Draco and pulled out his wand as he headed towards the commotion. The crowd parted as his dark green robes billowed behind him. As he broke into the centre of the crowd, he saw a terrified Hermione Granger on the floor yelling for help as she cradled the lifeless body of Druella Bones. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

   
Chapter 2  
It took Hermione a few hours after waking up the next morning to begin piecing together what happened. She remembered the way Druella’s body was covered with bloody slashes almost instantly after she had taken a sip of her drink. She remembered Professor Snape arriving to her side as Kingsley took away Druella’s body. She remembered a lot of shouting as Harry dragged a thrashing and kicking George Weasley out of the ballroom. Less vividly, Hermione could remember another wizard, Ron she eventually concluded, carrying her off the ballroom floor and aparating her home. He had gotten her situated into her bed and given her some dreamless sleep and held her hand under she finally fell asleep. She was grateful for the dreamless sleep, she knew she wouldn’t have been able to sleep without it, however it was making her memories a bit fuzzy. 

Two days after the assassination, Hermione finally decided she needed to get out of her bedroom. Druella’s funeral would be tomorrow and the Ministry would be reopening within a week. Kingsley ordered the immediate closing of the Ministry, not only out of respect for the Undersecretary, but for fear that this was an assassination attempt with a more widespread attack against the Ministry. 

Hermione shuffled down her loft stairs and into her kitchen to start fixing herself some tea. She always found herself preparing tea in the muggle fashion when she was anxious or upset. It seemed to calm and clear her mind. Just then her fireplace began to spark green. Hermione’s heart sunk as she quickly readjusted her shawl to better cover her top and put a warming charm over the tea. She wasn’t sure she was emotionally ready to see anyone.

“Miss Granger?” Kingsley’s voice echoed in her sitting room.  
“Yes, yes I’m here.” She stepped into her sitting room in front of the fireplace  
“Do you mind if I stop in?” Hermione’s frown deepened and she sighed. It’s not like she had a choice. One doesn’t say no to the Minister of Magic.  
“No, of course not Minister, just don’t mind the mess” Kingsley’s tall figure came in through the fireplace as Hermione picked up some parchment and books she had left on the couch. “Would you like some tea, sir?”

“No, thank you. How are you holding up? Harry said he hasn’t heard from you since yesterday morning”. Hermione hadn’t even bothered to read the latest letters the owls had left from Harry and Ginny or the latest Daily Prophets, she knew she hadn’t the strength yet to hear about the details. All she knew at this point was that a dear friend was just poisoned in a very bloody and public way and her ex-boyfriend’s brother was being held for the assassination. 

“Too be honest, I’m in a pretty fragile state right now. I think I’m finally coming down from the shock. May I ask what brings you here today? I’m afraid I don’t have the strength to play a political dance today” Hermione smiled weakly as she sat down in her arm chair and motioned for Kingsley to sit down on the couch next to her. She summoned her tea cup from the kitchen. 

“Yes, well then, let me get to the crux of it all. First off, in the next day or two, I’m going to need you to come in and give a detailed report of what happened right before Druella Bones collapsed. Do you think you can do that?” Kingsley sat down on the couch and stared straight at Hermione, trying to gage her reaction. Hermione shuddered; her mind instinctively replayed the image of Druella’s bloody body falling into her arms.

“I can, but I’m afraid I might not be of much help, I think my personal relationships with both Druella and George might be clouding my assessment and memories at the moment. That and I took some dreamless sleep after I returned home that night” Hermione looked away as she spoke and took a sip of her tea. She was sure if she continued to make eye contact with Kingsley, she would start crying.

“I understand. Anything you might be able to provide will be very important. Hermione, you’re a brilliant witch and a trustworthy one, there’s a reason why I appointed you to the Wizagamont and there’s a reason I’m about to tell you this next part. Because I trust you and I need your intelligence” Hermione looked back at him with guarded curiosity, knitting her eyebrows. Kingsley only showered praises when he wanted a favour. “I do not believe George Weasley killed Druella. I believe he was framed. This is quite the sensitive matter because Druella was a top member of the ministry, and I can’t have the usual Aurors going out to investigate this. I need somebody smart enough who can investigate in the background so as to not tip off the actual murderer and to do it quickly before George goes to trial. Are you following?”

Hermione’s mouth must have slowly dropped open without her realizing it. She quickly snapped it shut. If the minister was so convinced of this theory and was unwilling to use the usual ministry channels to investigate all while keeping an innocent man captive, it meant there was some internal ministry corruption heaped into all of this as well. “Yes. You need somebody discrete. One who has a background in finding items of dark magic without being detected? And it seems you need somebody who was close enough to Druella to ensure they could complete the task out of loyalty for her”

Kingsley slowly nodded. Hermione chewed on her bottom lip and cupped her hands entirely around her mug as though the mug itself might provide her some strength or guidance. She had hoped she put her dangerous tasks behind her after the fall of Voldemort. She was hoping that her career at the ministry would be more or less spent behind books and decision making, not risking her life. There was a reason she hadn’t joined the Aurors with Harry and Ron. Yet, Kingsley was right in assuming that she would be brave enough do anything out of loyalty for her friends. Once a Gryffindor, always a Gryffindor, she thought ruefully. “I’ll do it. But I’m doing it for Druella and George. Not to help rid the ministry of any corruption or for political reasons”

She could tell Kingsley was suppressing a smile. “Yes, of course. Thank you. Now, you won’t be able to this on your own --”

“Harry can work with me?” Hermione started to feel a bit relieved. Part of the Golden Trio, back together again. Harry was always the balance and support that gave her more strength than she knew she had when it came to difficult tasks. But her relief didn’t last more than a few seconds as Kinsley started shaking his head.

“No, for a task as complicated as this, you’ll need a partner with an extensive history of both potions and dark magic, that is well versed in conspiracies. And somebody just as close to Druella as you were. Severus Snape” Hermione’s stomach sunk. This was no good. It wasn’t that she didn’t like or trust Professor Snape. She was forever grateful for his help in winning the war and held him to a certain respect due to all of the sacrifices she knew he endured. Yet, all that aside, reflecting to at her time as his student and the few times their paths had crossed at the ministry, he was too inflexible and too cold to ever be a reliable partner. 

“In that case, Minister, I think it would be better if I do this investigation on my own. Professor Snape isn’t quite…a team player. We’ve tried working together on a few things together, and well, it just never ends well” Hermione tried to word her response carefully but realised it still came out sounding childish.

“This isn’t some ministry research project, Miss Granger. A man’s life is at stake and there is a greater threat looming out there while the real murderer or murderers walk free. I need you to reach out to Severus as soon as possible and start working on finding the real criminal responsible for Druella Bones’ murder. Now, I must be going. Can I count on you and Severus meeting me at my office the day after next for short meeting? It will need to be in secret, but since the ministry will still be closed, it shouldn’t be too much of a risk” Kingsley rose and started walking towards the fireplace.

“Hang on, you’re expecting me to not only partner up with Professor Snape, but I’m supposed to be the one that convinces him to work with me?” Hermione started to feel borderline hysterical and she felt her composure start to slip away. Research and investigating she could do, but trying to persuade somebody to do anything? That was always Harry’s job. And to try and persuade somebody as stubborn and unreadable as Professor Snape? Not possible.

“That’s exactly what I’m asking of you. Now, I expect I’ll be seeing you tomorrow at the funeral. Good afternoon, Miss Granger” And with that, Kingsley entered the fireplace and left. Hermione sunk back into her armchair and realized with some sadness that, at least for the past 10 minutes, she had been distracted enough to forget her friend was dead and she would be going to a funeral tomorrow. Perhaps finding a way to convince Professor Snape for his help would distract her a little more.  
*****

Severus walked out through the crowd leaving Druella’s funeral, his robes flying behind him in the wind. It had been held outdoors, in a beautiful open field near Hogsmeade, overlooking the small village. It had been a bright, spring day with a slight and chilly breeze blowing through every few minutes. Everyone would be milling around for quite some time sharing stories and giving each other comfort but he didn’t want any of that. The funeral was a long affair with more moments of laughter than most funerals he had attended. Which is exactly how she would have wanted it, he surmised. He was walking through the field toward the apparation point when Hermione Granger stopped in front of him. “Professor Snape, do you have a minute?”

Very few things made Severus uncomfortable, but being thanked in public was probably number one on that list. He still considered the day they gave him his Order of Merlin to be one of the top 5 worst experiences of his life. Standing in front of hundreds of applauding people while he awkwardly stood there with his medal attached to his coat. He almost shuddered again thinking about it. Of course Granger would want to thank him for getting her safely home the night of Druella’s death. This witch never knew when to leave well enough alone. Severus didn’t think he had the strength right now to deal with her declaration of appreciations in front of such a large crowd of people without snarling at her.

“I am actually on my way to another engagement.” Inwardly he groaned; he couldn’t even come up with a good excuse when he was flustered like this. There wasn’t a witch or wizard he knew that wasn’t already here. Hermione bit her lip and anxiously looked around. She cast a quick muffliato charm.

“There is something I wish to speak to you about in private as soon as possible, is there any way you could find time for me later this afternoon?” Did she not want anyone to know that he had brought her back to her bed? It’s not as though anything inappropriate had happened. Even amongst all the chaos that night, everyone was well aware was so distraught she was nearly physically unable to stand, let alone complete any kind of apparation.

“Miss Granger, you needn’t bother thanking me for getting you home the other night. Any decent witch or wizard would have done what I did.” A curious look passed over Hermoine’s face as Severus finished his thought. A slight blush was appearing on her cheeks.

“Pardon? Oh. No. I actually…I didn’t know that had been you. Well, then I should be thanking you for that, but no I’m afraid this is something more serious. It concerns Druella.” Now it was his turn to feel confused. Why would Granger need to speak to him about Druella? None of the projects he was currently working on for the ministry had anything to do with Granger’s position. If she wanted to sit and recall good memories of the witch, she had hundreds of other friends and acquaintances to turn to right here.

“Hm. All right. I can stop by your place at 7 tonight, would that work for you?” Granger looked like she had never been more relieved in her life and for a brief second, he was terrified she was about to hug him, his back muscles became tense.

“Yes! Yes, that would be perfect. Thank you, Sir. I’ll see you then” Severus walked away feeling more confused than he had in quite some time.

That evening Severus arrived in front of Granger’s door at exactly 7. He still felt a little out of sorts, as he didn’t have a good grasp on the situation. She had provided him no details as to what this was about and he had finally stopped guessing, assuming it had to be about the woman’s death and perhaps Hermione thought he knew more about it than she did. It was a weak idea, but it was the most logical one he came up with after spending the afternoon hypothesising about it. He took a second to get his bearings as he knocked on the door. “It’s open!” he heard Granger yell. 

He entered her small and tidy loft. Granger popped out from around the wall by the kitchen. “Thank you for coming, sir. Make yourself comfortable, would you like anything to drink?” she gestured to the couch.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you” He sat down on her overstuffed, brown leather couch and took in his surroundings. Her bookshelves surrounding her fireplace were full of books. She had a number of personal pictures hanging on her wall. One of her, Weasley and Potter, at what he assumed was the first victory ball the ministry held after the fall of Voldemort, she had her arms wrapped around both boys’ necks and was laughing as though she didn’t have a care in the world. There was one of her with Minerva from the day she graduated from Hogwarts, Minerva was looking at her with pride. And there was one lone muggle photo of who he assumed had to have been her parents, the woman in the photo looked exactly as one would imagine Hermione would look like in about 20 years. Hermione came in with a plate of cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties and placed them on the small table in front of the couch. He didn’t change his blank stare, but slowly raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not sure if you have a sweet tooth, sir, but please help yourself. How have you been?” She gave him a little smile and rigidly sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

“Miss Granger, it feels as though you are either trying to bribe me or impress me. Why don’t you just come out with which on it is?” He wasn’t sure he had ever seen her fidget so much. He remembered making some of his students this nervous but recently, the only times he had elicited this kind of a behaviour from anyone was when a witch was flirting with him. Oh Merlin, she hadn’t taken the other night as a romantic gesture, had she? She didn’t think this was some sort of date, did she? No. Not possible. She had mentioned it was about Druella. 

“Of course. Sorry, Sir. Well, as you know, George Weasley is currently being held for the assassination of Undersecretary Bones. It is the Minister’s thought, or should I say, he believes that George is being framed and that there is some corruption within the ministry that may be related to the assassination. He needs somebody on the outside to help me investigate and find the real culprit. This is possibly part of a larger plan--” Hermione was nervously playing with her necklace as she rambled, she couldn’t even look him in the eye. 

“Miss Granger, are you asking me to help you investigate Druella’s murder?” Severus had to stop himself from breathing an obvious sigh of relieve. Only you would feel more comfortable solving a murder than turning down a request for a date, Severus.

“Yes. Sir.” A few moments of silence followed as he thought about the request. This assassination had left him unsettled; he had never seen any kind of potion have that effect on a person. It was almost as though it was intended for the most gruesome effect possible. And beyond the fact that it happened to such a close friend, he had been interested in figuring this out even if he hadn’t been so close to Druella. “I will do it.”

She finally made eye contact with him and let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, Professor Snape, thank you! I’m terrible at convincing people to do anything, I was certain you were going to turn me down.” 

“Don’t think that my acceptance has anything to do with your persuasion skills, Miss Granger, it seems that’s something you haven’t been able to learn from all your studies. But since the beginning of this unfortunately affair, I had a feeling they had arrested the wrong man. I know you and I have had our differences in the past, but I trust we can find a way to work together in solving this. And if there is anyone that would find some kind of joy in the oddity of bringing us together as workmates, it would have been Druella” Severus leaned back into the couch “ Now, let’s compare notes on what we both know and what we’ll need to do from here”  
 


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione looked around her office for any book or piece of parchment she might have missed. When she had convinced herself that she had it all, she stepped out into the hallway where Professor Snape was waiting. “I’m ready, sir” 

He turned his head, “And here I thought you would be more efficient with our time, I would be shocked to find there is anything actually left in your office, Granger. I thought you said you only needed a few books” She returned his scowl. 

If Hermione had thought the good will from last night’s discussion were to last through the entirety of this mission, she was sorely mistaken. They had just left their meeting with Kingsley who insisted that the two of them now find a safe house to work out of together until a resolution was in place. Snape objected under the premise that he worked better alone, Hermione objected under the premise that she could ably protect herself. In the end, they both reluctantly concluded that it was probably best for the sake of time and secrecy to stay together. Hermione was picking up some items from her office that she thought might aid in their investigation, the only thing left now was to pick up some clothes from her apartment. Severus had a second, hidden home in London; they decided to use that as their safe house.

“Sir, you really don’t have to escort me home. I can just meet you at the safe house” She told him with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. She thought out of all people, he would find her capable of doing this on her own.

“Miss Granger, it’s not that I don’t think you’re capable of getting your personal items and finding the safe house, it’s that the wards and enchantments I have over the location require I be the one to escort you in” For a brief second she was afraid he had performed legilimency on her. She stared back at him a little bewildered.

“Well, in that case, let’s get a move on” Hermione led the way as they floo’d to her apartment. Gathering extra clothes and some extra books didn’t take long. It wasn’t like she was going to be seeing anyone over the next few days; she just needed some comfortable things to wear and a few books she had been reading in preparation for the Wizengamot. After collecting her belongings, she stopped into her kitchen to grab some of her favourite tea. It wasn’t that Hermione was particular about her tea, it was that she knew she would want something to remind her of home if she was to stay at a strange house with an even stranger man for who knew how long.

“I can assure you, I have tea you can use. You aren’t moving in permanently, this is simply a temporary inconvenience” Severus drawled as he stopped pacing her sitting room. 

“It’s my favourite tea. It’s the last thing, I promise” Hermione said quietly with a bit of scorn in her voice. He was making it very difficult for her not to lose her cool and start shouting as she had in Kinglsey’s office. Hermione had completely lost her temper earlier and had made the decision that she wouldn’t let Snape see her come unhinged again over the course of this investigation. She placed it the tea her bag and slung the bag over her shoulder. “See. I’m ready.” Severus huffed at her.

He held out his arm for her and they apparated into his flat, arriving on the first floor near a dining room. Hermione’s first impression was how warm and welcoming it was. She knew this was his second home, but she was surprised he would have taken such pains to make it look so cosy. Or perhaps she had just assumed Snape would only decorate his residences to match his personality, cold and unapproachable. Maybe he had to furnish it as his bachelor pad in attempt to snag some poor unsuspecting witch.  
She wasn’t sure what made her think of that last thought, but she had to suppress a smile once it flitted across her mind. 

And for a second time that day, it was as though he read her mind, as he turned to her “I’m afraid I can’t take credit for the decoration; this was actually once one of Albus’ homes. He left it to me, I suppose in the event I were to survive the war and needed a place to hide. I stayed here during my trial”  
Hermione was at a loss for words, she wasn’t sure if it was by his mention of the war, the fact that this used to be Dumbledore’s home, or the brief fear that he had just caught her thinking about his sex life. “Oh. Well. It is very lovely”

“There is a small room you can use upstairs, it’s the second door on the left. Why don’t you set up your belongings in there, then meet me down in the library over here, and we can continue our research. I’m going down to my laboratory to start some diagnostic tests on the poison in the champagne.” Snape pulled out a vial filled with the liquid in question from his robes and started walking down the hallway

“Thank you, Sir” Hermione started up the stairs. She walked by the first door on the left which was closed, she assumed it was the master bedroom where Snape would be sleeping, her room was at the end of the hall. It was actually a larger and brighter room than she had expected. The bed looked quite comfortable with a large white quilt. At least she could try and get some good sleep while she stayed here. There was a small window that allowed a little of the afternoon light in and the walls were completely void of any decoration. On the left side of the window was a small desk, on the other a small vanity. Hermione took out her clothes and placed them in the small vanity near the window. The rest of her bag’s contents were the books and parchments she had picked up, she figured she could bring those down to the library. 

Hermione tied her hair back into a knot and proceeded back downstairs. Snape wasn’t back up from the laboratory yet and she didn’t feel like wandering around the house trying to find its location, so she took a few minutes to browse the books he had on the shelves. She concluded most must have been left from Dumbledore, as she couldn’t see Snape being one to read let alone own the complete collection of Jane Austen or works by Homer. The books reminded her of the eclectic nature of Dumbledore and Hermione smiled remembering the old wizard. 

“Find something amusing?” Snape’s voice broke through the silence from behind her making Hermione jump.

“Oh! You startled me, you don’t have to sneak up on me like that you know. I’m not going to steal anything of yours. How did your preliminary tests go?” She moved towards the couch and sat down while putting her bag on the floor by her feet. She began taking out the books and sorting them into piles based on topic.

“I’ve ruled out the three poisons I thought it might be. The other two tests take a while to complete so I have some time until I’ll go check on them. Are you hungry? I’ve just realised it’s well past noon” Snape reclined into the arm chair opposite Hermione. “Why don’t I have my house elf bring us some sandwiches and we can get started”  
****  
They had worked through the afternoon and into the evening and Severus could tell they were, much to his surprise, making more progress together than they would apart. His ability to see the whole picture and her attention to detail seemed to be a good match. Severus knew he would never admit to it, but he was also starting to find her fascinating as a problem solver, she seemed to create new ideas from nowhere instead of simply parroting back something she read in one of her work documents as he assumed she would. It seemed Granger had matured quite a bit since her days as his pupil.

They had come to the conclusion that Druella was a target because of her recent push of pro-muggle programs. The Ministry had become more open to magic-muggle collaborations since the end of the war, but no one was as strong an advocate as Druella. Hermione had suggested the idea that George was an easy target to frame not only for his products and popularity, but because of his family’s history in supporting muggle culture. Severus agreed with this assessment and also suggested the idea that the real murderer had underestimated Druella’s own popularity and it was possible that they assumed everyone would rally around George and squashing any pro-muggle steps the ministry was taking.

His other two tests on the champagne had come back negative. Severus was starting to think this might be a potion he had yet to come across. Something struck him during the last tests, he remembered Potter at the party mentioning something about a new potion they had found during a raid. Unfortunately, this meant he might have to be making a visit to see Potter soon to get more details. He resolved to deal with it in the morning.  
“Granger, we’ve been at this for hours. What would you say to breaking for the evening? I was thinking of having some roasted chicken and wine for dinner, would you be interested in joining me?” Severus stood from his chair. He was starting to feel a little guilty for being so harsh with her this morning. He had felt the Minister had backed him into a corner and he struck the easiest target he could find. Maybe by extending an olive branch, he could make this whole situation a little easier for the both of them. Granger closed the book that was on her lap and smiled up at him.

“That sounds lovely, sir. I need to give my mind a break from these morbid discussions if I’m to get any sleep tonight.” She started to put her books and parchments into order around her and stood up to follow him to the dining room. The food was already presented on the table for them, chicken with vegetables and a large carafe of elf-made wine. He used a wandless spell to pull the chair out for her to sit in as he sat down in his chair at the head of the table.

“Why so chivalrous, professor? You can’t be trying to make up for your poor behaviour towards me earlier today, can you? You’ll have to do more than pull out a chair for me if that’s the case.” Hermione smiled again as she placed a napkin on her lap

“Miss Granger, if you think pulling a chair out to be the pinnacle of chivalry, I shudder to think of the other basic manners that you young people must be missing out on.” Severus filled his goblet with wine and gave her a smirk. They had been sparing back and forth like this during some of their breaks that afternoon, and it was another thing he was starting to find enjoyment in. Hermione rolled her eyes and started eating. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Hermione spoke up. 

“So when you aren’t working for the ministry, what do you do, sir?” Severus was surprised she had gone an entire five minutes without asking any questions.

“I run my own potions business, brewing potions for St Mungo’s, Hogwarts, and individuals. The one benefit of having a well-known name, I suppose, is easily building out one’s own client base and being able to be your own master” Severus leaned back into his chair and swirled his wine around in his goblet. “How do you like your work for the ministry?”

“Oh, I like it very much. It allows me to be surrounded by books and research. I’ve found since the war I’ve become even more of an introvert, so I’m lucky to have a position that allows me to hide away in my corner and be alone with my thoughts.” Hermione smiled sadly into her cup and took another drink of her wine. He could tell she had the same reservations about speaking about the war as he did. Earlier he almost immediately regretted bringing up his trial; he felt it had made her uncomfortable.

“Interesting. You always struck me as an extrovert; you always seem to be at the public events the Ministry holds every so often” 

“I could say the same of you, Professor” She raised her head, her face remained passive but there was a little glint in her eyes that told him she was joking with him. Her eyes turned serious once again, “I really only attend those events because Harry will talk me into it or back when I was with Ron, he always wanted to go. I think the only one I ever enjoyed was that first victory ball the ministry put on that summer after the war. Probably because anything was still possible then, or maybe—“ she shook her head as she trailed off and filled her wine glass. 

“I remember that one. They had it right after I was acquitted. That has been the one event I have hated most. Things were much too raw and emotional for me at the time and the only thing I could do was fight off petty and superficial people trying to ‘get to know me’. As if I wasn’t the same man they had hated for the past 15 years or as if I suddenly turned into somebody like Gilderoy Lockhart.” Severus gave her a sad smile and Granger looked up at him with a mix of understanding and sympathy. He wasn’t sure why he felt so comfortable opening up to her right now, it was probably because they had spent nearly the past 24 hours in such close proximity with each other. Or it was the wine. 

“It’s hard living up to the person the papers write you to be, isn’t it? People become mad when you aren’t living up to their expectations. And most people don’t know the half of what we went through during the war. I’m sure I don’t know many of the sacrifices you had to endure, and you don’t know some of the things I had to do to keep Harry safe during our time in hiding. But people never want to hear about those things or see the scars we carry. They just want to the spoils from the victors” She looked back at her cup as though it would hold some kind of answer or comfort for her and briefly placed a hand over her chest. A few seconds of silence passed as he took in her words and watched her with some wonder. It was almost as if she had read his feelings and taken the words from his own thoughts. 

Severus cleared his throat. “I think you just described my past 2 relationships to the detail, Miss Granger.” She laughed, letting some of the tension of the room out. Yes, it definitely had to be the wine. It had been an exceedingly long day and he was afraid he was starting to show more of himself to Granger than he wished to. “Miss Granger, I think I’m going to retire for the evening.” He rose abruptly and his empty plate and cup disappeared from the table.

“I’ll follow you up. I’m not used to drinking so much wine with dinner, I forget my mouth tends to run a little too freely when I do. I should get some sleep” 

“You’re blaming your non-stop chatter on the wine? Whatever was your excuse during your time as a student?” He made a gesture for her to leave the dining room first and he followed closely behind. She looked back at him and laughed again. There was something about her laugh that made his heart beat a little faster, like it was a potion he was becoming addicted to.

Hermione walked up the stairs slowly as though she was trying to find something to say. She started to head down the hall towards her room when he lightly placed his hand on her arm to stop her. She turned to face him.

“Thank you, Miss Granger. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve actually had an interesting dinner conversation. It’s a nice change to be able to discuss certain topics instead of acting as though they don’t exist.” 

She was standing so close to him it was as though he could feel her own magic against his skin. And then, as if his arm had taken on a mind of its own, he reached out and cupped her face in his hand and rubbed his thumb across her flushed cheek. Hermione placed her hand over his, leaning her cheek into his palm and closed her eyes for a few seconds. He watched as her chest rose and fell with deep breaths. Then, as if somebody had thrown a jolting hex at him, Severus curtly pulled his arm back. “Ah, well, good night.” Severus turned and walked the 5 steps to his room as quickly as he could without looking back. After shutting the door he leaned up against it and closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. What in Merlin’s name had he been thinking? What possessed him to touch her like that? He opened his eyes and realizing he was staring into a pitch dark room, cast a lumos and headed toward his bed. It was nothing a good night’s sleep couldn’t fix.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione awoke the next day to rain pattering on the window. Even though it was overcast and raining, she could tell she had slept later than she had intended. I needed the sleep she justified as she stretched out in the bed, which had been just as comfortable as she had anticipated. 

She stared up at the ceiling and replayed the events from the night before, running her fingertips across her cheek, as though she could still feel Snape’s touch there. What had he meant by doing that? For a brief, exhilarating second, she was sure he was going to lean in and kiss her. Why was she thinking so much about this, it’s not as though she held any romantic feelings for the man. When he had told her he had been the one that had settled her into bed the night of Druella’s death, she had felt mortified. But she couldn’t figure out if she felt that way because she allowed him to see her so vulnerable or because the intimacy of him being in her bedroom made her think about having him in her bed, naked and on top of her? She groaned and threw the quilt over her head, as though she was could use it to hide from her thoughts. Hermione wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answer.

After a few minutes, she decided she couldn’t hide any longer. She would act as though nothing had happened the night before. Snape was probably just feeling emotional because of Druella’s death and that stupid conversation she had to bring up regarding the war. There was no need to dwell on this anymore and embarrass the both of them; it wasn’t like he could ever see her as a romantic interest anyhow. And maybe the gesture was more of protection or comfort. Hermione took a shower and dressed in some of her casual robes. She headed downstairs and realised Snape was already in the library. He was dressed in black trousers with a crisp white oxford shirt sitting in the arm chair, reading a bit of parchment. She smiled to herself, this was probably the most casual she had ever seen Snape dressed.

“Good morning, sir” Hermione tried her best to act as though nothing had changed between them, like there was no reason to feel awkward. But she could tell she was holding herself stiffly and her greeting came out just a little too peppy. 

He peered over his parchment, “It’s nearly 9.30, Miss Granger, do you intend on getting any work done this morning? I hadn’t realised you would be treating this as a holiday”. Ah, there was his snark. She felt more relaxed, and reassured herself that nothing had changed. Even if she had imagined what it might have been like if he had pulled her a little closer to him last night.

“I hadn’t realised we set a time table to start work this morning, sir, my apologies” She sat down on the couch and opened a book that she had been reviewing last night. A pot of tea appeared next to her as well as some toast and eggs. She started eating while she made notes on some of her research. It was a book on dark magic and protection against enemies; she was hoping to find some sort of inspiration. A passage in there reminded her of her time at Hogwarts and how Harry had counted Draco and Snape as two of his greatest enemies. Now he was on rather good terms with the two of them, she smiled to herself, how funny it is how much things can change. 16 year old Harry would be mortified to know he weekly met up for a pint with Draco Malfoy.

Suddenly, something came to the front of Hermione’s memory. Immediately after Druella had taken a sip of that champagne, it was though it had slashed through her with a dozen knifes. It reminded Hermione of the way Harry had described hexing Draco during their sixth year, shortly before Snape had…

“Oh gods!” Hermione gasped out loud. It was almost exactly like that Sectumsempra curse. Snape looked up again at her without putting his parchment down and watched her wildly flip through the book. “It wouldn’t be here, if this was written before your time….”

“Care to enlighten me about the reason for this little outburst, Miss Granger?” he then put down his parchment to stare at her more intently. 

“I was just thinking, back in my sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry, he used a curse on Draco, it had nearly the exact response that Druella had from drinking that potion. It was a curse he had found in the Half--” Hermione stopped moving and slowly looked up at him “in your potions, book, sir. Sectumsempra. Sir. Your curse.” She finished quietly.

Snape’s eyes darkened, although his face remained unchanging. He stood abruptly. Hermione was frightened for a second that she had offended him. She didn’t mean to insinuate he was the guilty party by calling it ‘his curse’. “Merlin, you might be on to something Hermione. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize it before.” She flinched a little at him calling her by her first name, her heart raced a bit. “If somebody could find a way to brew a potion intended for their enemy, they could find similar properties….I think it’s time I go see Mr Potter. He told me they had discovered some kind of potion during a raid earlier this month, I need to see if it’s the same properties as what is in that champagne. If it is, we’ll have a more pure version to test on” He stood up and summoned his robes.

“Would you like me to come with you, sir?” Hermione dropped the book and rose from the couch.

“No, stay here, it would be best if I went alone as to not raise suspicion. Hopefully this won’t take long.” He walked out of the library and disapperated.

She stood staring in confusion at where he had just disappeared from. Had their relationship dynamic changed so much that he was referring to her by her first name? Not like she minded, she rather liked the way her name had sounded in his baritone voice. She shivered thinking about it and what it might be like to have him whisper dirty things into her ear as he ran his hands… “Ugh! Hermione, get it together!” She said out loud, covering her face with her hands. 

Hermione knew the one way to get back on track, start reading some of the dullest inter-department memos she had related to Druella and take notes. If that didn’t work, she figured she had the entire library to comb through in an attempt to think of anything but Severus Snape.  
***  
Severus knew it would take longer than he expected. He was hoping for a 20 minute meet up, unfortunately it had lasted almost 3 hours. Exchanges with Potter never went as quick as he would have liked. Sometimes he had the feeling that Potter was trying to overcompensate for all the hatred they had exchanged during his years at Hogwarts. One of these days Severus would just have to tell him to stop, it wasn’t as though Severus hadn’t given him plenty of reasons to hate him during those years, he really was a bully of a professor when he thought about it. 

Luckily Potter had a vial of the potion with him at his home, so they hadn’t had to sneak into the Ministry as Severus had originally feared. He had left his house so quickly earlier that he hadn’t taken time to think of an excuse as to why Potter couldn’t tell anyone they were going into the ministry. That wasn’t like him at all, it was as though Hermione was changing his behaviours with her presence alone, chipping away at his calm and collected persona. Miss Granger. He needed to remember to call her Miss Granger if they were going to continue this work together without him constantly thinking about what her lips might taste like against his.

Severus arrived back in his hallway, he looked in the library, Hermione was lying on the couch, engrossed in the book she held above her head. She must not have heard him come back. He took the opportunity to watch her from a distance unnoticed. Her hair spread out across a pillow, she was chewing on her lip as she read. When had she gotten so beautiful? He remembered her as an awkward teenager, but that was years ago, this was not the same girl he had known. This woman had more confidence and a good amount of wit to her. It was like he was meeting her for the first time and he wanted nothing more than to walk over there and find out what it would feel like to run his hands down along her side and settle them on her waist….

“Are you going to stand there all day? Or have you fallen asleep standing up?” She put the book down and looked toward the doorway. So she had heard him and now he felt like an arse just standing there in the dark hallway not saying anything.

“I was thinking, Miss Granger. And now you’ve broken my train of thought” He walked into the library trying to look as intimidating as possible. 

She smirked as she sat up and motioned for him to sit next to her on the couch. “Imagine that, I’m able to derail the deep thoughts of such a brilliant wizard. So, I take it you were able to find Harry?” 

“Yes, and luckily he had the potion on him so I didn’t have to come up with some flimsy excuse as to why we needed to go to the ministry in secret to get it. I’ll probably spend the afternoon deconstructing the potion. Anything new in your research?” 

“No, not really. I got distracted for a while so I haven’t done as much reading as I could have. Could I observe your work on the potion? I still haven’t seen your lab” Severus wasn’t sure he would be able to focus on the task at hand if she was going to be in such close proximity. But he couldn’t come up with a good enough reason as to why she couldn’t. 

“You may, as long as you don’t touch anything. And if you find you can’t cease your chattering, I will ask you to leave” She returned his scowl with a smile.

His lab in this home was much smaller than the usual one he worked out of at his place on Spinners End. There was a simple square table in the middle of the room with one Calderon on top of it and two stools next to it. The room didn’t have any windows and didn’t have nearly the variety of ingredients he normally liked. But it fit his needs when he needed a quick potion made while he stayed in London every so often. 

“You can sit on that stool” He gestured to the stool on the far right of the table as he gathered the necessary ingredients for his test. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Granger curiously take in her surroundings. 

“Is this where you run your business?” He brought the ingredients over to the table and sat down. Had she moved her stool over to be closer to him or was he being oversensitive to her presence? 

“No, I rarely use this location, this will actually be the most intricate work I’ve done down here.” He started chopping up some of the ingredients, well aware that she was staring at him. “I usually work out of my main home up in Manchester.”

“I didn’t realise that’s where you lived” He stopped chopping and turned his head too look at her “Don’t worry, I won’t start dropping by unannounced” She laughed. Her laugh seemed more forced, and a little awkward. Not like the free flowing ones she had last night. Was she guarding herself now or did she just feel uncomfortable around him because of his actions last night? 

Severus began adding the ingredients to the cauldron, explaining the reasoning behind each one and what he was looking for as he did. He was hoping that talking through this, he would be able to regain some of his composure around her, that maybe it would harken back to a time when he was her professor, and not a partner that wanted nothing more than to pick her up and take her right here on this table. He almost groaned out loud at his mind’s betrayal. He really needed to focus.

“And now, we wait a quarter of an hour as it coagulates” He turned to look at her for the first time since he sat down. 

“Ah, almost like polyjuice potion!” She wrote down a few sentences on her parchment

“Yes, almost like that.”

A few minutes of silence followed. “So how is Harry?” She ran her hand down her robe as though to smooth it out, not looking him in the eyes. 

“Good. As usual, I hadn’t meant to stay there that long, but I often find it’s hard to excuse myself from his questioning and conversations” Hermione laughed, more freely than earlier. A few more moments of silence followed. This day had become so much more awkward than yesterday, when their conversation and snarky back and forths flowed so easily. He should probably say something.

“Miss Granger, I want to apologize for my behaviour last night” She looked up at him with a mix of confusion and sadness “I was tired and wasn’t in the right mind. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me because of a lapse of judgement on my part”

“There is no need to apologize sir, you didn’t offend me. And while we’re at it, you can call me Hermione you know. There’s no need to be so formal when it’s only the two of us” She placed her hand on his arm, as though she proving to him that she was not afraid of touching him. There was that urge again, to reach out to her, only this time to pull her even closer to him so that her body would be flush up against his own. He swallowed hard, hoping his voice wouldn’t give away any of his feelings

“In that case, you can stop calling me Sir or Professor. Severus works just as well” He wasn’t sure he actually wanted to have her call him Severus. He was afraid that hearing his name on her lips would cause him to lose whatever composure he had left and do something brash like try and actually kiss her. But perhaps it would make this relationship a little more comfortable, at least for the moment.

“Alright. Severus” She smiled and drew her hand back. His name on her tongue shot straight to his heart, stirring something he hadn’t felt in a very long time, and before he knew what he was doing, he stood from his stool, closing the distance between them and in one fluid movement he placed both hands on her face as he bent down slightly to kiss her. 

At first, she seemed to be in shock. Her lips remained completely still against his. But that lasted only a second as she opened her mouth to his and snaked her arms around his waist, trying to pull him closer. He felt his lower torso came into direct contact with her, sending shocks of electricity across his entire body. And when he realised she had spread her legs in order to bring his body as close as possible to her own, he let out an almost animalistic groan into her mouth and ran his hands through her hair. He slid his tongue into her mouth and she sighed, clutching the back of his shirt even tighter. He moved his hands down the side of her body and cupping them underneath her thighs, and lifted her from the stool. Never breaking the kiss, he turned and placed her on the table, a better height for him. She flicked her tongue to meet his and wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her chest to his. It was then that logic seemed to finally register to his brain. He shouldn’t be doing this. He had opened the flood gates and needed to stop this flow of emotion. As abruptly as he started this, he pulled away.

“Oh!” Hermione breathlessly squealed as she opened her eyes in surprise at his departure. She kept one hand clutched on the front of his shirt as she looked up at him, lips red and swollen, eyelids dropped half closed.

“I should not have done that.” Severus straightened up and fixed his shirt. He felt stupid for letting go of his control, and as usual that led to his anger. “I think its best that you stop hovering over me, and go up and do some research on your own. Now!” He nearly snarled at her. She looked up at him with confusion and abruptly removed her hand from his shirt as if had burned her. Confusion that soon turned to anger as her eyes darkened. She quickly jumped from the table, knocking her abandoned stool over. 

“You’re right, SIR. I best go work on my own since it seems you can’t work with a partner without trying to paw over me like a bloody fifth year.” She turned and headed out the door, and he was fairly certain he saw sparks coming from the end of her hair as she slammed the door.


End file.
